LONDON (ShareCast) - Mark Elliot, Chief Executive of Arena, the race course owner, has acquired over two million shares in the firm.

The company announced that over 12m ordinary shares in the firm were allotted for submission onto the LSE, over 8.7m of which were allotted following vesting of awards granted pursuant to the Arena Leisure Long Term Incentive Plan.

Following the vesting, under which Elliott acquired 2.5m shares, he also purchased one million shares at 40.75p and 1.05m shares at 39.50p for a total of £820,608.

Earlier this month, the firm revealed that although revenues had slumped, it managed to boost profit before tax, which came in 14.6% ahead of 2010 at £4.2m.

Arena owns seven high profile race courses, including Lingfield Park and Doncaster, but has seen its turnover reduced by the fall in the levy on bookmakers.

As more betting has moved offshore, the number of betting shops which fall under the levy has reduced. The effect on Arena has been a £2.5m decline in revenues in 2011, to £61.5m.

Speaking at the time, Elliott said: "Looking ahead, 2012 sees the commencement of our five year media rights agreement with SIS which significantly enhances the group's income. We intend to maximise the opportunity provided by our catering service contract at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and to extend our in-house catering services to other third party venues and events."

The share price has gained 63% over the past year, but has remained flat during the past week.

As more betting has moved offshore, the number of betting shops which fall under the levy has reduced. The effect on Arena has been a £2.5m decline in revenues in 2011, to £61.5m.

NR


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